


Homecoming

by bluestargirl6 (pressdbtwnpages)



Category: The OC
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-01
Updated: 2010-04-01
Packaged: 2017-10-08 14:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pressdbtwnpages/pseuds/bluestargirl6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It's Thanksgiving and Ryan's driven his graduation-present truck, used, he insisted, home.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://smc36.livejournal.com/profile)[**smc36**](http://smc36.livejournal.com/)

  
Ryan drives up the familiar road to the familiar gates to the familiar street to the familiar house that he never thought he would be returning to, much less think of as home.

It's Thanksgiving and he's driven his graduation-present truck, used, he insisted, home. Seth's staying in Rhode Island, since it's only four days and he has, in his words, the worst. Schedule. Ever.

Ryan had kind of assumed that since Seth wasn't returning to Newport, he shouldn't either. But Kirsten had called and said of course they wanted him home if he wanted to be there and that they would do something fun, just the three of them.

Seth hadn't been upset. He had, in fact, suggested they go to Mexico and lay on a beach and drink margaritas. Ryan had argued that 1) they had their own beach 2) it was still November wherever they were and 3) it kind of defeated the point of the holiday to celebrate it out of the country. Seth ignored all of this logic in favor of a "well, do something unique, man. And try not to miss me too much."

Kirsten's waiting at the front door when Ryan drives up, either security in the community has improved or Kirsten's been waiting awhile and is extremely excited. Ryan sort of bets it's the latter.

He's barely out of the car before she's hugging him and asking a thousand questions, most of which she knows the answer too because Ryan swears they talk more now that he's hundreds of miles away than they ever did when they shared a house.

It's crazy, because she's acting like a real mom. Not that Kirsten wasn't always great, giving him a place to live and getting him out of juvie, but she wasn't really… mom-like. Not until the end of senior year, when she'd seemed to realize that she was going to go back to the way things were two summers ago, with an empty house and a fractured family.

And now she was fussing over him, taking his duffle bag out of his hands and telling him to come in and eat, that he looked too thin.

Sometimes, Ryan wonders when he's going to wake up. He'll still be fifteen, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom in Chino, jerked awake by the sound of A.J. beating the crap out of his mom. Or by Trey shaking him, telling him to get up, pussy, he's got something to do and Ryan can help.

But he hasn't woken up, and the foyer of the Cohen house feels like home, and Kirsten's hand at his back propelling him towards the kitchen feels like family.

And it's good.


End file.
